News from the Votemaster

For someone as cautious as Mitt Romney, it is surprising that within a day of arriving in Britain he made
a number of gaffes that have been
widely reported in both the
British Press
and
American press.
When Romney commented that the security around the Olympics was not quite up to snuff, British Prime Minister
David Cameron shot back:
"We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world.
Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere"
(a pointed reference to Romney's management of the Winter Olympics in Utah in 2002).
But even Romney's attempt at praise fell flat when he acknowledged America's shared Anglo-Saxon heritage with
the U.K., forgetting that the majority of Americans trace their roots to Central Europe, Latin America, Africa,
and Asia rather than Britain. Politicians make gaffes all the time, but given that the only purpose of this
trip is to make Romney look presidential, insulting his hosts is not a great start.

Since the Republican National Convention is likely to be completely surprise-free, with one speaker after
another bashing President Obama for not fixing the economy, the thousands of delegates, alternates, staffers,
and reporters may be looking out for other things to do and the Tampa strip-club industry is
gearing up
to accommodate them. One club has
hired
a Sarah Palin lookalike to arouse the Republicans. The trade association for the industry, although technically
nonpartisan, did implicitly express a political preference by noting that Republicans outspend Democrats at their
places of business three to one. The problem with all this activity is the danger of some important Republican being
photographed with his pants down, so to speak.

In the primaries, Romney had it easy with a bunch of opponents who were not ready for prime time.
Now he is in the big leagues. Just as he is about to show up in Israel to attack President Obama for not
helping Israel enough, Obama is going to
sign
a bill to strengthen U.S.-Israeli military cooperation. If you think the timing is a coincidence, you are very
naive. This is why sitting Presidents have won reelection 70% of the time since WWII: they have a lot of control
over the agenda. So while Romney is in Israel attacking Obama for not doing more for Israel, Obama will be talking
to reporters about how the bill he just signed gives Israel more military aid and access to missile defense
and other advanced weapons.

One area Romney has not hit Obama so hard yet is Obama's
promise
that the U.S. would lead the world in
college graduates by 2020. Currently it is 16th and has no chance of becoming #1 by 2020.
Obama has said that countries that out-educate us now will out-compete us in the future but he has done
little to achieve his stated goal. Probably the reason Romney hasn't hit him harder on this is that would
raise the question of how Romney plans on becoming #1 and most of the solutions involve federal money--lots of it.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has
thrown his support
to Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who is enmeshed in a bitter and expensive struggle with consumer rights advocate
Elizabeth Warren for a Senate seat in Massachusetts.
Bloomberg said he supports Brown due to Brown's (minor) deviation from the Republican othodoxy on gun regulation.
Brown opposes federal legislation that would allow anyone with a concealed gun permit to use it nationwide. Bloomberg
does not want someone with a concealed gun permit from, say, Texas, to be able to legally carry a concealed
gun in New York City. What Bloomberg didn't say was whether Warren's concerted opposition to Wall Street played
any role in his decision to come out for Brown.